The statistics reflect the amount of taxes the state collects from within Florida, not necessarily from people living in the state. While that methodology shows how much goes into the states' coffers each year, it doesn't paint an accurate picture of how much Floridians are actually paying, said Ken Small, a fiscal analyst for the Florida League of Cities.

"When you look at the census numbers, big states are going to have big dollars,'' he said.

A fraction of what Florida collected came from property taxes. Licenses, including those for alcoholic beverages and motor vehicles, and sales taxes make up the bulk of the taxes collected. The collections earned Florida a fourth-place ranking behind California, New York and Texas.

Smaller states, however, didn't fare as well in the census report.

A report by the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan tax research organization, does break down state tax collections per capita for fiscal 2010. That report ranks Florida 42nd per capita with a tax collection rate of $1,680 per person, while Alaska was ranked first and South Carolina was ranked last.

South Dakota was ranked last and collected $1.3 billion in fiscal 2010-11. Wyoming, New Hampshire and Montana joined South Dakota at the end of the list.

Small said to get a clear understanding of what a Floridian contributes, analysts instead need to look at the per capita collection rate.

An analyst for the Census Bureau couldn't be reached for comment about the way the rates were calculated, but a report by the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan tax research organization, does break down state tax collections per capita for fiscal 2010.

That report ranks Florida 42nd per capita with a tax collection rate of $1,680 per person, while Alaska was ranked first and South Carolina was ranked last.

While state tax collections may be up, local governments aren't necessarily faring as well.

Collier County Tax Collector Larry Ray said the property tax rolls have declined year over year. The county previously had a tax roll of about $805 million, while this year's tax roll is closer to $758 million. Ray said the drop is due to declining property values.

That's something that Small said will continue to happen until local governments decide to increase the tax rate.

"I don't think cities and counties are interested in raising the millage rate very much," he said. "That means they will bring in less property taxes than they did in this year."

Property tax revenue may continue to decline, but Ray said there has been an increase in the county's tourism tax.

Collier County collected $12.8 million in fiscal 2009-10 and that jumped to $13.3 million in fiscal 2010-11. The county has collected about $10.3 million this year, and Ray said Collier "might break the all-time high of $14.7 million" in fiscal 2011-12.